AN: Hello, hello — it's been a while, hasn't it? I apologize for the impromptu break! Here's to the next part of this adventure. Also, any words that are italized means they're in Japanese.

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Chapter 9 - Names

Have regard for your name, since it will remain for you longer than a great store of gold.

- Ecclesiasticus

ƸӜ̨Ʒ ƸӜ̨Ʒ

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Considering the state of my situation and the way things were, I had expected to be led to an outhouse. But once the pink haired girl started leading me down an unmarked path away from the building, I realized I would be doing my necessities out in the open. As I walked behind her, I noticed that we were going deeper into the forest to the point where I could no longer see the wooden building I was a prisoner in. After walking for a bit, we stopped at what could be considered a section that appeared like any other.

"Once you're done, return here. I'll only be a couple of feet away," the girl said as she undid the ropes around my wrist before she stepped amongst the trees.

Time no longer had any meaning without an actual thing to measure it against. But one thing for sure, nothing hurried you up more than the thought of something happening to you while in your most vulnerable state. So after I relieved myself —a most satisfying feeling I might add—, I took a few steps opposite from where I last seen the girl disappear.

With no sight of her or any other human for that matter, I took a couple of steps away from where I last saw her. Nothing but trees, shrubs and the vibrant green grass as far as I could see. I looked up through the branches of trees that towered over me and could see the dark gray skies that lingered. While it was no longer raining, there was still a sharp chill in the air as I readjusted the oversized cloak I wore. While it had kept the majority of my body warm, it didn't do much for my feet that were exposed to the elements of this earth.

Just as I was about to take a step forward with the intention of walking past the shrubs that surrounded me, I heard a strange rustling coming from amongst them. Quickly recalling what happened earlier, I took a cautionary step back.

"No, not this again…" I muttered under my breath as I slowly started backing away from the shrubs, my senses once more heightened as I kept a firm sight on the green plant. It was apparent that I wouldn't be able to move forward without the need to walk through them. With the exception of the way I came from, there was no way I was going to risk it by walking through the shrubs. Whether the source were rats, badgers or even a snake nest, I did not want to know and much less confront. Once I was comfortable with the distance I set between myself and it, I quickly turned on my heels and made a dash from where I came from.

I had no clue where I was going but I almost ran into the girl, nearly colliding against her before I managed to catch myself in time.

"It doesn't take much to scare you into running, does it?" She said as she still held the rope that bound my wrist in her dark gloved hands. "Most curious indeed to see that you couldn't even protect yourself; granted, those where Sai's triggers in case you were to run off – where you trying to?"

"I—what?" I voiced a bit too flatly, aware there was no use for me to speak as it would been useless to do so. Even if that were my case, that did not stop them from talking.

I felt her emerald colored eyes on me, scrutinizing me for some unknown reason. "Why do you continue to speak that way? Surely, you should had at least picked up a couple of words from wherever you came from," she said with a shrug before she turned and started to walk away. "Follow me."

"Might as well be mute," I muttered to myself as I watched the girl walk ahead. There was no need for me to guess that she wanted me to follow her. Though her body language clearly told me she didn't care, it still gave me the impression that I should follow her. That or go back to whatever the hell back there was.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

We walked down a path that I wasn't familiar with but I could sense this was not the path we had previously walked on. Though my surroundings did not differ, I could somehow tell we were walking further from where we originally started from. There was no way for me to physically tell we were walking down a specific path, but I had a feeling we weren't walking back to the shelter. While I was content with the fact that my wrists were no longer bound together, I could not help but wonder where we were really going. Though she walked ahead of me and appeared like she didn't care whether I followed her or not, I had a feeling she was not being purposely irresponsible with my supervision for a lack of a better word. So while I had the option of running off, I did not wan to test out the feeling I had. Though I had no idea who she was or what these people were, I was not keen in finding out. The way they acted and looked was somewhat unsettling to me.

We continued down the same path in silence and though it looked as if everything around me was the same, I noticed a change in the air. It was nothing noticeable but the more I listened on as we walked, the sound grew stronger. It didn't take me long to figure out that the source of the noise was the sound of running water.

"We'll be reaching a stream where you can wash yourself," the girl said.

I could not understand why these people insisted on speaking to me the way they did as if I was able to understand the words that left their mouths. At most and from my lack of knowledge, I figured the language they spoke was of Asian origin. Whether it was Chinese, Korean, Japanese or any of the other half of dozen ones, it would not matter as the knowledge of the ethnicity it belonged to would be useless. It wouldn't help my cause because I had no knowledge of those languages.

As the sound of the stream became clearer which meant we were almost to the source, I said, "If I were to stop talking, would you in turn stop as well?"

The girl looked over her shoulder, "you're either dumb and have no knowledge of the common tongue or you're putting up an act of this ignorant girl."

I didn't bother to respond – as I previously noted, there was no use in having a one-sided conversation.

After a couple of minutes of silence, we finally reached the stream and let me first say that I had never seen something quite like it before. Well, more like I had never seen one with my own eyes that is.

As I stood near a low-branched tree, I admired the view from where I stood. The sight itself was literally picture perfect like those professional photos seen in a National Geographic magazine. With rocks jutting out from the running water, seeming to appear as stepping stones to cross the expanse of the stream and green foliage surrounding it on both sides, it was as if this part of the world was yet to be touched by human hands. It was quite serene, really.

I then turned and watched as the girl walked towards the stream as she tugged off her black gloves, "you can stop staring and wash yourself, you know." She looked over her shoulders again and with a signal, she indicated I should join her. "Don't just stand there."

Being as it was the only source of water I had seen other than the rain, I knew I had to take advantage of it. Even so, the germaphobic side of me hoped that as clean and clear as the water appeared to be, I hoped it wasn't the same kind I had drank from earlier. Last thing I needed was a bad case of stomach cramps and diarrhea amongst these strangers. So once I acknowledged the girl's attention with a nod of my own, I unzipped the cloak I wore and placed it on a tree's branch near me.

It had been a while since I last gave myself a good look and without a mirror, all I could take in were the clothes I wore. Though not normally self-conscious about my appearance, I could not help but feel that way as I stood there. The white tank I wore was smeared with mud as were my black fleece short shorts. I could see that my right knee was badly scraped, dried blood and dirt still clung onto it while on the same right side, my outer thigh was covered with dried speckled blood. The sight of it did not surprise me considering it was the same side where I had hidden the small knife a day or so ago, the very same one that cut me when I fell hard on the ground. I could not help but wonder how I could have forgotten about it. I could not even recall the pain from it but could still vividly recall how it happened. It was indeed a curious thing, but I suppose a hectic day could do that to someone's memory. With a sigh, I made my way towards the stream.

I caught the girl staring at me as I walked up to her side and while I did not found that particularly strange, I ignored her. Even as I knelt beside her, I could still sense her eyes on me. Alrighty then, feeling a bit apprehensive but again I ignored her. As I reached down to cup a handful of cool water with my hands, I could still feel her staring. I get it. I looked like the very thing the cat dragged in but this was a bit too much if not borderline creepy. Even I had not stared at someone this long when I had a good reason to consider how odd the guys were dressed. But me? Someone who was clearly disheveled and literally had fought to survive was worthy enough to be stared at? With a huff, I looked up to her but she quickly glanced away.

"Huh, you weren't kidding," she muttered under breath.

I splashed the cold water over my face, cupping my hands over my nose and mouth as I took in the feeling of the cool element on my suddenly warm skin. There was nothing much to do but ignore whatever it was she was saying but I kept my ears open just in case...

"Would it be too much to ask what your name is?"

I splashed the water over my arms, rubbing them hard to get the grime off of me.

"Idiot."

I looked up, quirked an eyebrow and did not bothered to hide my annoyed expression. "Has anyone told you staring is really rude?" I readied myself to wash my other arm when I heard her say the same word. "Are you trying to say bucket or something?"

The girl scoffed under her breath, "you really have no idea what I'm saying then, do you idiot?"

This was becoming a one-sided conversation on her part, so why not join in?

I pointed to her, "bahhhkaaattt, whatever the hell that means. You're stupid for talking to me as if I knew what you were even saying." The girl stared at my finger and I watched as her eyebrows furrowed before she looked at me.

"That was a pretty lame way of calling me an idiot," at best she looked flustered or surprised, couldn't tell nor did I care as I returned back to the task at hand.

So for the next couple of minutes or what I can assume as a couple as there was no way of telling time, I concentrated on cleaning myself as much as possible. While I would had much preferred a warm shower and clean clothes, I was pleasantly surprised with what I managed. The girl had long departed from my side without a word and last I checked, she was leaning against one of the many trees as she looked over something in her hands.

Though there was still no sun and the air wasn't exactly warm, I still took advantage of letting it dry my skin when I sensed the girl walked up to me. I had no bothered to look at her, so I kept my sight straight ahead. All I wanted to do was take advantage of the fresh, open air before I was surely to be dragged back and locked inside the room. To my surprised, she sat down beside me.

"Sakura," I heard her say calmly.

I felt her nudge me on my side with her elbow, which I instinctively drew back as I glared at her. It was here when I noticed she pointed at herself with one of her gloved hands.

"Sakura," she pointed to herself again.

I blinked, more than a little confused at what was happening here. Again, she repeated the action but this time around she deliberately spoke it slowly as if she were pronouncing each letter. I moved my mouth as I tried the word within my head. Sakura. Sakura. The word sounded familiar to me though I couldn't figure out the purpose of it. As if she could read my mind, she pointed to herself again.

"Sakura," she looked at me expectantly, her short – and somewhat stylish – hair swayed a little with the breeze that came from behind us. I raised my own hand and pointed at her, "Sakura?" I repeated the word. With an awkward smile, she nodded at my response before she pointed at me. I then pointed at myself as I repeated the word but this only followed with a shake of her head as she saw this.

"Well, I have no idea what you're trying to say other than calling me Sakura," I responded.

"Your name, what's your name? My name's Sakura."

Again with the pointing.

I looked down at my hands then back up at her. Her demeanor had changed, what could have possibly caused this? I'd even go as far saying she was being friendly? I haven't seen her smile – granted, an awkward one at that – nor laidback as I was now seeing. Apparently, this Sakura word did not mean 'me' as she had re-pointed at herself.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. She wasn't trying to call me Sakura, she was telling me her name! With a curious look, I pointed at myself and voiced my name slowly.

"Ariadna."

"Arianna. Interesting"

She – or should I say Sakura – would had pronounced my name correctly had she not forgotten the 'd' within it, even so, I nodded with a slight smile. Great, now we knew each other's names.

Now my question was, why the change in attitude?

Author's Note:

First of all, I really enjoy this little tic-tac conversation between her and Sakura. Granted, Sakura could had been nicer and understanding? But at the same time she's weary and a know-it-all of sorts? I'unno, but I like this odd power play, haha.

Second, if you're on Tumblr, feel free to follow my writing blog abitofwriting for any going-ons in regards to my stories and the like.

Now my response from last chapter's question:

{What's the most amazing place in nature you've been?}

Easy! On top of a hill overlooking a valley! Talk about feeling both small and magnificent standing and overlooking untouched land and by untouched, I meant it looking as nature intended for it to look. Pretty amazing.

Now here's this chapter's question:

[Think of a brand, now what would an honest slogan for that brand be?]

Thank you for reading!